Tampa Bay's big players have been notably absent since just before the Lightning began slumping last month.

A tougher schedule and disappearing stars have combined to bring the Lightning back down to Earth after Tampa Bay's good start.

While it would have been too much to expect the Lightning (13-10-4-1) to continue at the pace of their 11-2-2-1 start through Nov. 22, a team with their talent should be faring better than the current 2-8-2 stretch in the past 12 games.

Tampa Bay is unlikely to tinker with its current makeup.

Tampa Bay played well for two periods but a couple of breakdowns resulted in Gary Roberts and Mats Sundin scoring in a span of 80 seconds of the third to lead Toronto to a 3-0 victory Tuesday night at the Air Canada Centre.